Interaction of hope and optimism with anxiety and depression in a specific group of cancer survivors: a preliminary study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Anxiety and depression have been identified as a common psychological distress faced by the majority of cancer patients. With the increasing number of cancer cases, increasing demands will be placed on health systems to address effective psychosocial care and therapy. The objective of this study was to assess the possible role of hope and optimism on anxiety and depression. We also wanted to investigate if there is a specific component of hope that could play a role in buffering anxiety and depression amongst cancer patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A retrospective cross sectional study was conducted in the outpatient station of the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, PR-China. Fifty patients successfully treated for OC cancer were recruited after their informed consents had been obtained during the review clinic. During their regular follow-up controls in the outpatient clinic the patients compiled the hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS), hope scale (HS) and the life orientation scale-revised (LOT-R).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Hope was negatively correlated with depression (<it>r </it>= -.55, <it>p </it>< .001) and anxiety (r = -.38, <it>p </it>< .05). Similar pattern was found between optimism and the latter adjustment outcomes (depression: <it>r </it>= -.55, <it>p </it>< .001; anxiety: <it>r </it>= -.35, <it>p </it>< .05). Regression analyses indentified that both hope and optimism were significant predictors of depression. Hope and optimism had equal association with depression (hope: <it>β </it>= .40 versus optimism: <it>β </it>= .38). Hope and optimism together were significantly predictive of anxiety, whereas neither hope nor optimism alone was significant individual predictors of anxiety.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Hope and optimism both negatively correlated with patients' level of anxiety and depression. Besides theoretical implications, this study brings forward relevant findings related to developing specific clinical psychological care in the field of oncology that to date has not been researched specifically in the field of oncology. The results of this study will help guide the direction of future prospective studies in the field of oncology. This will contribute significantly to increasing patients quality of life as well enabling health care facilities to provide all cancer patients a more holistic cancer care.</p

Regulatory T cells and their role in rheumatic diseases: a potential target for novel therapeutic development

Regulatory T cells have an important role in limiting immune reactions and are essential regulators of self-tolerance. Among them, CD4+CD25high regulatory T cells are the best-described subset. In this article, we summarize current knowledge on the phenotype, function, and development of CD4+CD25high regulatory T cells. We also review the literature on the role of these T cells in rheumatic diseases and discuss the potential for their use in immunotherapy

Psychosocial Factors That Shape Patient and Carer Experiences of Dementia Diagnosis and Treatment : A Systematic Review of Qualitative Studies

Funding: This article presents independent research commissioned by the UK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) under Research for Patient Benefit (Grant Reference Number PB-PG-0808-16024). The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR, nor the Department of Health. The sponsor of the study had no role in study design, data analysis, data interpretation or writing of the reportEarly diagnosis and intervention for people with dementia is increasingly considered a priority, but practitioners are concerned with the effects of earlier diagnosis and interventions on patients and caregivers. This systematic review evaluates the qualitative evidence about how people accommodate and adapt to the diagnosis of dementia and its immediate consequences, to guide practice. Methods and Findings: We systematically reviewed qualitative studies exploring experiences of community-dwelling individuals with dementia, and their carers, around diagnosis and the transition to becoming a person with dementia. We searched PubMed, PsychINFO, Embase, CINAHL, and the British Nursing Index (all searched in May 2010 with no date restrictions; PubMed search updated in February 2012), checked reference lists, and undertook citation searches in PubMed and Google Scholar (ongoing to September 2011). We used thematic synthesis to identify key themes, commonalities, barriers to earlier diagnosis, and support identified as helpful. We identified 126 papers reporting 102 studies including a total of 3,095 participants. Three overarching themes emerged from our analysis: (1) pathways through diagnosis, including its impact on identity, roles, and relationships; (2) resolving conflicts to accommodate a diagnosis, including the acceptability of support, focusing on the present or the future, and the use or avoidance of knowledge; and (3) strategies and support to minimise the impact of dementia. Consistent barriers to diagnosis include stigma, normalisation of symptoms, and lack of knowledge. Studies report a lack of specialist support particularly post-diagnosis. Conclusions: There is an extensive body of qualitative literature on the experiences of community-dwelling individuals with dementia on receiving and adapting to a diagnosis of dementia. We present a thematic analysis that could be useful to professionals working with people with dementia. We suggest that research emphasis should shift towards the development and evaluation of interventions, particularly those providing support after diagnosis.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Activation of salmonella typhi-specific regulatory T cells in typhoid disease in a wild-type s. Typhi challenge model.

Salmonella Typhi (S. Typhi), the causative agent of typhoid fever, causes significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Currently available vaccines are moderately efficacious, and identification of immunological responses associated with protection or disease will facilitate the development of improved vaccines. We investigated S. Typhi-specific modulation of activation and homing potential of circulating regulatory T cells (Treg) by flow and mass cytometry using specimens obtained from a human challenge study. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were obtained from volunteers pre- and at multiple time-points post-challenge with wild-type S. Typhi. We identified differing patterns of S. Typhi-specific modulation of the homing potential of circulating Treg between volunteers diagnosed with typhoid (TD) and those who were not (No TD). TD volunteers demonstrated up-regulation of the gut homing molecule integrin α4ß7 pre-challenge, followed by a significant down-regulation post-challenge consistent with Treg homing to the gut. Additionally, S. Typhi-specific Treg from TD volunteers exhibited up-regulation of activation molecules post-challenge (e.g., HLA-DR, LFA-1). We further demonstrate that depletion of Treg results in increased S. Typhi-specific cytokine production by CD8+ TEM in vitro. These results suggest that the tissue distribution of activated Treg, their characteristics and activation status may play a pivotal role in typhoid fever, possibly through suppression of S. Typhi-specific effector T cell responses. These studies provide important novel insights into the regulation of immune responses that are likely to be critical in protection against typhoid and other enteric infectious diseases

Using Focus Groups to Study the Process of (de)Politicization

International audiencePalgrave macmillan, 2017 (p.365-387). The growing distance that seems to characterize the relationship that citizens entertain with politics-in Western democracies, in particular-is matter for concern. How to make democracy work when those who are supposed to be the source of legitimate power don't bother to engage? (Hay, 2009; Stoker, 2009) Although the causes of citizens' de-politicization are most probably largely external to them – as, for instance, the disappearance of social capital, the role of modern media, globalization and the blurring of political accountability, neoliberalism and the individualization of social relations (Zürn, 2016)-their effects should also be analyzed, observed and interpreted. Interrogating such effects is all the more important, if we hope to find triggers that would help in reversing the trend of de-politicization. Focus groups might prove useful for studying (de)politicization-provided that they are designed appropriately. I did have experience of this in a study dedicated to attitudes towards European integration (Duchesne et al., 2013) i. The original project aimed to analyze a more specific process, conflictualization, i.e. how people accept or avoid conflict in public discussion. We first conducted an experimental series of three groups on delinquency which yielded promising insights (Duchesne and Haegel, 2010, 2004). We decided to replicate the study in a broader setting, in order to compare the French dynamic we had already observe